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Murder Is Murder
(Abortion Policy)
By: Trisha Dea
Background
The current abortion laws in Iowa state that abortions for women over the age of eighteen are legal. The woman needs to be provided with all the necessary information to look over before they make their final decision, and the procedure must be performed by a licensed physician (3). If abortion is the choice made then it is legal to perform it. If an abortion is performed without following these criteria stated then it is a criminal offense and the party responsible will be punished, unless there is a medical emergency and the procedure must be performed to save the life of the mother (3).
Human life begins at implantation. Implantation occurs between six and twelve days after conception (4). Until implantation the blastocyst could still be flushed out of the body, naturally. Once the embryo has embedded itself into the uterine wall, however, it will develop into a baby unless gestation is interrupted. The first week after implantation the embryo develops a brain, spinal cord, gastrointestinal tract, and a heart. Two to three weeks after implantation there is a steady heartbeat (4). Studies have shown that a developing baby can start to feel pain between 18 and 24 weeks of gestation (6).
Thus perform an abortion any time after implantation would be intentionally killing a living and developing human being. To kill a human intentionally is murder. Therefore abortion is a form of murder, and should be treated as such. To kill a human or to be involved in killing a human is a criminal act and is punishable by law. So, to perform an abortion or to be involved in performing an abortion after implantation should also be considered a criminal act and should also be punishable by law.
Not only do abortions kill a baby, but they also have a negative impact on the person who has the abortion. The abortion process itself is very painful. About 97% of women experienced pain with anesthesia, and over one third of those women said the pain was severe (10). Many women who have had abortions also suffer from side effects. Some of these side effects include pain and infections, while others include mental issues like depression. They may even develop a pattern of psychological issues commonly known as Post-Abortion Syndrome (7). In 1989 a survey showed that 56% of women who had abortions felt guilty, and 26% had mostly regretted what they had done (9). Some women become so depressed that they turn to drugs or alcohol to feel better, or even commit suicide (5). Other women have reported nightmares of children calling out to them from trashcans (7). Some of the infections and pain is caused by not getting all the remains from the pregnancy removed, such as not getting the entire placenta removed (10). In some cases the consequences of abortion can be death. There have been 200 deaths of women due to legal abortions since 1973 (10).
Abortion is not the only answer and there are places that will help women with unexpected pregnancies. A good example of one on these places is a Crisis Pregnancy Center. These facilities can help with pregnancy counseling and tests. They can also help obtain financial assistance, clothing, baby equipment, housing, and other things (8).
For these reasons all forms of abortions performed later than two weeks after fertilization should be illegal and punishable by law.
Policy
Under this policy, all forms of abortions that are performed later than two weeks after fertilization in women over the age of eighteen, with the exception of abortions performed to save the life of the mother or to save the life or lives of other fetuses in the womb will be banned. In this law, forms of birth control that prevent fertilization are not considered abortion; also the morning after pill would not be considered abortion. But will be illegal and considered akin to murder if abortion in performed after the zygote has already implanted itself into the uterine wall.
Penalties under this law will not only affect the clinic performing the abortion, but should also affect the woman having the procedure done and the doctor performing it. The woman getting the procedure done, if convicted, will face charges of murder, and will have to pay a large fine or be sentenced to three to five years in prison . The doctor performing the procedure, if convicted, will face the same charges as the woman getting the procedure done and will also have his or her license to practice suspended for three to five years. The clinic caught doing these procedures will be fined and have to publicly announce and apologize for what has been practiced there on the first offense, and then will be shut down on the second offense.
The enforcement of the law being proposed would be done by the state health department. There would be an affidavit that would need to be filled out in the case of any of the exceptions to the law. The affidavit that the doctor would fill out would have to state the specific reasons and a clear description of why this procedure needed to be performed. This affidavit would need to be signed by both the mother of the fetus and also by the doctor performing the abortion and the head of the clinic. The clinic is responsible for filing the paperwork. Then the affidavit would need to be sent to the state health department for review. If the procedure is done and this is not gone about properly those involved would be charge the same way as if the procedure was done illegally.
To determine if a clinic or a doctor is doing illegal abortion procedures, every clinic should have an inspection twice a year. This inspection will be of the entire facility and will also include coverage of all paperwork dated after the date of the previous inspection. If a clinic is suspected of performing illegal abortions, an investigation will be performed by detectives employed by the Iowa Bureau of Investigation.
As of 2003 there have been Pro-life license plates available to purchase. Proceeds from the sale of these license plates after the passage of this law will help fund the enforcement of this law (2). There will also be a sales tax increase on soda products. Most federal insurance plans cover abortions that have to be done to save the life of the mother, or in cases of rape or incest (1).
Conclusion
An argument could be made that life begins at conception. As stated in my background; until it is embedded into the uterine wall it doesn’t start to develop human characteristics and it can be flushed out of the body naturally. So therefore that argument cannot be a reasonable argument against my policy. Also what if the pregnant woman doesn’t know she is pregnant within the amount of time provided to get an abortion? There are many alternative pathways that they would have to go with, other than abortion. After that time frame the baby would already be developing and to get an abortion would be murder and would be treated as such.
Abortions are murder of an innocent baby and it should be treated as such. Unless the mother or another child in the womb is at risk of death, abortions should not be performed. This policy does not include cases of rape or incest, or if the expecting mother is under the age of eighteen. This policy also does not include forms of birth control, or forms of abortions that are performed before two weeks after implantation. This policy would punish all parties involved in any form of abortion that occurred in women over the age of eighteen, in Iowa, except when the specific exceptions apply. The current law, that supports abortions in Iowa, should be changed because abortion is murder. It is the deliberate killing of another human being.